Sunday 05 April 2026

Updated and new items first

Please tell us what you think about the English Resident Doctors strike going ahead straight after the long Easter weekend from 7-13 April. Do they have your patient and public support?

Measles outbreak of highly contagious disease, in north London. Most cases are in schools and nurseries; some children require hospital treatment, “particularly those not immunised”. Outbreaks spread easily and Essex is close by. Parents should get children vaccinated and check children’s vaccination status. Between 1 January and 23 March 2026 299 measles cases have been confirmed in England, 29 more since 19 March, mostly driven by the North London outbreak. The blog: “What are the symptoms of measles and how can I best protect my child?” is updated.

A very informative recording of our 23 March Virtual Public Meeting “Will SWF get better health services from 1st April’s NHS changes?” is on our website at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da74zZMigwE . Chief Officers told us how NHS Essex, our Hospitals and our Mental Health Trust are changing and improving.

The new Essex-wide NHS organisation that brings together NHS planning and commissioning across the whole of Essex was launched on 1 April. NHS Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) is a new chapter for health, care and partnerships across Essex that will focus on preventing illness and strengthening community and neighbourhood services. As part of the national NHS reform, NHS Essex will:

• focus on prevention and early intervention, not just treatment
• deliver more care in neighbourhoods and community settings
• use data and digital tools intelligently to improve decisions and outcomes
• reduce avoidable differences in health between communities
• ensure every pound of public money delivers maximum value

People can stay informed about the work of NHS Essex by visiting the new website www.essex.icb.nhs.uk and signing up for regular email news updates and by visiting Essex Virtual Views, the NHS Essex online engagement community, where they can share views and help shape future NHS plans and decisions across Essex.

Our local Hospitals’ Trust went into an “intensive recovery programme” in April after the Health Secretary said “failure has been tolerated for too long”. Our 1 April virtual meeting heard how the then Chief Executive is getting to grips with its challenges, and we hope the extra support will help get our local acute services up to scratch very soon. We wish them well with this and will help in any way we can. Their performance in February was:

• 68.3% of patients were seen within four hours in their emergency departments against the national standard of 78%. That is 2.3% better than January. Nationally the performance was 74.1% and in East of England it was 73.3%. A revised improvement plan was introduced in March along with increased senior leadership presence in clinical areas.
• 66 minutes was the average time for ambulances to hand over patients. This compares to 45 minutes in East of England and 51 minutes nationally.
• 63.2% of patients of patients received cancer diagnosis results within 28 days, against the 79% standard. This was a slight improvement on January. Diagnostic and outpatient capacity are being increased along with short term backlog-clearing support.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of lung infections like bronchitis and pneumonia. As of 1 April 2026, RSV vaccine is available for free on the NHS via GPs and some pharmacies to:

• Adults who are aged 75 or over;
• Adults who are living in a care home for older adults;
• pregnant women (28 weeks+ pregnant) and recommended during every pregnancy to help protect newborn babies.

As of 1230 on 30 March there were 21 confirmed cases of Meningitis reported in the recent outbreak linked to Canterbury, Kent. The outbreak appears to have peaked. Essex NHS says: While the overall risk to the wider public remains low, Meningitis can develop quickly and become very serious. Early symptoms can feel like flu or other common illnesses like fever, muscle and joint pain and feeling tired. Symptoms can worsen quickly and may include severe headache, confusion and seizures. “Meningitis and septicaemia: know the symptoms and when to get help” is on the NHS website.

Norovirus activity remains high but is decreasing, remaining at expected levels. Cases are high in adults aged 65+; children also suffer badly. To reduce the spread, please practice good hygiene. Alcohol gels don’t kill Norovirus; wash hands regularly with warm soapy water and use bleach-based products to clean surfaces to protect everyone and reduce spread.

A COVID-19 vaccine will be offered this spring to those in the population most vulnerable to serious outcomes from COVID-19 and who are therefore most likely to benefit from vaccination. From 13 April to 30 June 2026, vaccination will be offered in England to:

• adults aged 75 and over
• residents in care homes for older people
• individuals aged 6 months and over who are immunosuppressed.

This week the new Pandemic Preparedness Strategy was published alongside the UK Government’s response to Covid-19 Inquiry Module 2 report. The Strategy replaces the 2011 UK Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Strategy and outlines the UK government’s ambition for pandemic preparedness to 2030. It builds on the lessons identified from the COVID-19 pandemic and is shaped by the findings of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry and indicative findings from Exercise Pegasus, the largest non-military exercise ever to take place in the UK. The Exercise tested the government’s ability to respond quickly and effectively during a prolonged crisis, with a full report to be published in Winter 2026.

The Strategy is backed by around £1 billion of investment in health protection measures including enhancing access to essential vaccines and therapeutics, improving pandemic surveillance systems and expanding the ability to roll out testing to the whole population.

Publicity about Farm visits has been renewed as Spring gets underway, offering children and adults alike an enjoyable and educational day out. However, visiting a farm carries a small risk of catching infection from animals or the environment. Washing your hands thoroughly with soap and hot running water immediately after you have had contact with animals will reduce the risk of infection. Hand gels or wipes are not a substitute for washing your hands with soap and hot running water, as they do not kill all germs that you could catch from animals.

Following the simple rules below will help keep you and your children safe from infections that may be found on open farms. Pregnant women need to take particular care as infections acquired from animals can be harmful to them and their unborn baby:

• wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after you have touched animals, fences or other surfaces in animal areas
• wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water before eating or drinking
• supervise children closely to ensure that they wash their hands thoroughly
• only eat and drink in picnic areas or cafes
• remove and clean your boots or shoes if they have become dirty or muddy and clean pushchair wheels. Make sure to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water afterwards
• follow instructions and signage provided on farm sites

Things you should not do when visiting a farm:
• do not touch your face or put your fingers in your mouth while petting animals or walking around the farm
• do not allow children to put their faces close to animals
• do not eat or drink while touching animals or walking round the farm. This includes not eating sweets, crisps or chewing gum
• do not eat anything that has fallen on the floor
• do not use gels or wipes instead of washing hands with soap and water. Gels and wipes do not remove all germs you could catch from animals.

This year, Asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) patients will start getting better care closer to home through a new £10m government, NHS and pharmaceuticals partnership. Tens of thousands of patients will get faster, better and more personalised care to tackle leading causes of death and preventable hospital admissions. Emergency admissions will be avoided; winter pressures eased. 1 in 5 people are affected by respiratory disease during their lifetime. Respiratory disease is the third leading cause of death in the UK, with 700,000+ hospital admissions and 6million annual inpatient bed days, most unplanned.

10,000+ calls to Martha’s Rule helplines in the first 16 months of this NHS scheme, have saved lives and helped thousands of patients benefit from changes to their care. NHS trusts must fully implement this by March 2027. Between September 2024 and December 2025, 10,119 escalation calls were made by patients, families and staff. 3,457 calls helped identify acute deterioration, leading to 1,885 patients receiving changed treatment, including 446 potentially life-saving interventions. 6,000 calls addressed clinical, communication, or coordination concerns, leading to improvements in care or system navigation. Hospitals are publicising Martha’s Rule and making it easy-to-understand and use by patients, families and staff.

Serious problems with the supply of bone cement, crucial in orthopaedic surgery, are resolved. Sufficient supply is back in the system. Elective surgery has been restored. Additional theatre time is enabling patients who were postponed to be rescheduled.

Our weekly newsletter includes everything we’ve published in the previous 7-days. Libraries provide online services and help with internet access. For welfare information and subscription to our newsletter, email swfhealthsocial@outlook.com or leave a voicemail on 01245 322079. https://swfhealthsocial.co.uk/
Happy Easter!